Children
by TiramisuCoffee
Summary: After taking care of the leader of the Phantom Brigade, Kurapika's mind takes him back to when he was a child, months prior to the massacre of the Kuruta Clan, with two of his childhood friends being the main protagonists of these odd flashbacks…
1. 1) Soon

**_Children_**

_Soon_

* * *

I was laying on the bed in my hotel room. I had just recovered from the bad fever I was suffering from a couple of days ago. My limbs ached, my head throbbed, my breathing was so heavy… so heavy I thought it could crush my chest.

It did not matter though. I had started my walk to revenge. Two of the Spider's were down and the leader had been taken care of. I do not regret my decision.

It never crossed my mind that walking side by side with vengeance could be this soul consuming. I feel my spirit breaking and losing pieces as I continue down this path. It still does not matter. I chose this life. I chose it for my family, for my Clan, for myself... to appease this unquenchable anger.

I sat up and looked around the room. I glanced at the painting over my head. It was one of those impersonal and emotionless paintings used for decoration. This one had leaves on them, which made something in my mind click, antique thoughts re-emerging.

Leaves, huh?

I closed my eyes and for a moment I could hear nothing. Not the noise of the busy traffic outside or the sound of my heavy breathing.

My Clan. How long has it been? More than five years. How long have I not thought about you?

Too long.

* * *

_"Pairo isn't feeling too well today, huh, Kurapika?"_

_ I slowly opened my eyes. I was back home now. I could hear the grass crinkling under my steps and feel the heat of the sun shining on my face, the air of the forest penetrated my lungs and I was no longer in this cursed city._

_Who was I talking with?_

_"No. We had a pretty tough day yesterday. I think I made him walk too much." I kicked a pebble that was under my foot. _

_Everything came back to me. I was talking with Kurani, my friend. Everyone said we were meant for each other, but we were simply friends, we were too young to think of anything else. _

_"So since you two can't hang out together I'm replacing him today?" She was a twelve year old little girl, with strawberry blonde hair, big grey eyes and light freckles over her cheeks and nose. I felt relieved that I could still picture her face in my memories._

_"You're my friend too, Rana, you know."_

_"Yes, yes. I was just teasing," she kneeled to collect something. She was a very odd little girl, I thought it back then and still think it now. Kurani went from moments of intense talking to ones of complete silence and she would spend her free time staring at trees and collecting different types of leaves._

_Right, my friend had an odd liking for leaves. For a long time I never understood what she would do with them._

_"What do you think of this one?" Her gray eyes focused on a leaf._

_Why do I remember all these meaningless little details?_

_"Honestly, they all look the same to me. What do you even do with them?" _

_"You still thinking of going outside the village?" she changed the subject. She always did that when she did not want to give an answer to one of my questions. Such an odd little girl._

_"Of course! After that book I read about D Hunter, I'm even more determined. Just think about all the amazing new things out there!"_

_I saw Kurani nodding absentmindedly._

_"You'll see! Pairo and I, we're going to take the test and after we pass we'll leave immediately and have adventures like the Hunter from the book. It's going to be amazing!" That was our dream, Pairo and mine, to get out of this forest and go explore the world. No one was going to get in the way of that._

_How much I have changed._

_"But, Kurapika…" Kurani had an embarrassed and almost worried expression on her pale round face. "… will you come back?"_

_What did she mean with that question? Why was she worrying?_

_ It took me a moment to realize it. Her father was from outside. He married Kurani's mother, but this life was not the kind he wanted to lead for the rest of his days, so he decided to leave and we never saw him again._

_ "This is my home. Of course I will return. Every time I'll come back I'll tell you all about our adventures." That was enough to relieve her. She was very easy to please, the smile on her face confirmed it._

_"Yes, I'd like that."_

_We were heading back to the village now. We encountered both our mothers, who punctually asked us if we were hiding anything from them. They were the ones who would usually make comments about our future together, and just like every other time we shied away from those unwanted questions. So inconvenient of them._

_Our mothers were very close, like sisters; they grew up together and decided that whenever they were going to have children the initial part of their names would be the same: Kura-pika and Kura-ni. My friend was never very fond of that. __I always called her Rana… it made her much more content._

_ "Well, time to get going!" my mother said and Kurani cocked her head in my direction, a vague smile creasing on her face._

_"I'll see you soon, Kurapika." _

_"Yes, I'll see you." I reached my hand out towards her but she took a step back._

_Huh?_

_"I'll see soon, Kurapika." She repeated, her words far away as I tried to get close to her, but she would always grow more distant. What… why was she leaving?_

_"I'll see you… soon..." Her words echoed in my head like a slow-paced song that was coming to an end._

_"I'll see you…soon…"_

_Kurani?_

_"I'll see you..."_

* * *

"…Soon." I whispered softly. So softly that only ghosts could hear me.

* * *

**Notes:**

This is just a very simple and unassuming fan fiction of five chapters. I mainly wanted to explore how Kurapika was before the massacre of his clan and wanted to have fun with it. I really liked the two chapters in the manga that Togashi dedicated to the Kuruta kid and I loved how lively and happy he was. I hope you like it and don't mind the fact I decided to give Kurapika another friend :P

I challenged myself to write first person narrator. I hope it came out okay.

Hope you enjoy it!

**Next Chapter:** Kids fight!


	2. 2) I'm sorry

_ I'm sorry_

* * *

_"Kurapika, you're up next!" our teacher called out. This was our combat teacher. All children of the village trained outside almost every day in the traditional fighting style of the Kuruta Clan. It was custom for us to learn how to defend ourselves and learn how to fight from a very young age. Out of all my classmates I was the best at this. I was good at a lot of different things. Pairo would tell me it was because I did not like being second to anyone. I suppose there was a little bit of truth in that statement._

_ "Kurani, step forward please." She did not want to come out. My friend knew she was going to be defeated but, alas, she had no other choice. Sighing, she came forward and raised her fists near her face in perfect defense stance. Kurani was cautions so she was not going to make the first move._

_ "If you hurt me I might have to cancel the wedding." She whispered and I smiled._

_This whole marriage affaire now became a joke between the two of us. At first we found it rather unpleasant and bothersome that people, especially our mothers, would continue to make such comments, but after a while we decided to start ourselves to joke around with that idea in hopes that it would all stop. We found it amusing after a while._

_"Don't worry, I could never hurt —" the words stopped midsentence when I felt Kurani's knee collided hard with my stomach. A kick; she was fast and I had barely noticed that she was already in front of me and attacking._

_And with that we began._

_She punched, I dodged._

_I kicked her left side, she stumbled._

_She ran towards me. Punch, dodge, another punch, foot work, kick, avoid, fist in the face. Hit._

_She took a couple of steps back. I got her right eyes. We went about it again._

_She charged. Punch, arm block, elbow to the ribs, impact, twirl and kick to the face, duck, knee to the cheek._

_This time I was the one losing my balance. Kurani was not going to let me win that easily. The right side of my face tingled after that blow._

_We circled each other and she attacked. I was determined not to let her get me again. Instead of the frontal hit I was expecting, she surprised me and slid on the ground on her left leg and hit my ankles with her right foot._

_I fell backwards and she quickly kneeled over me, a punch directed to my face. I grabbed her wrist before she could charge against me._

_"Guess you're not unbeatable." Kurani whispered, my pride a little damaged._

_"Alright! That's enough." Our teacher said, clapping his hands to catch our attention. Being the obedient little girl she was, Kurani was getting back on her feet._

_No, that was not enough. I could still beat her. I was not going to lose to someone weaker than me._

_I grabbed her other wrist and slammed her on the ground next to me, swapping places so that now I was on my knees looking down at her._

_"Kurapika!" Kurani gasped. I was making a statement there; I could beat her anytime I wanted._

_I think she glared at me after that. I was not sure, I really was not paying much attention to her feelings._

_We began wrestling, rolling on the ground waiting for each other to surrender. We punched, we kicked, we jerked at each other's clothes, no one had any intention of giving up. Our teacher tried to break us up but in vain._

_I found myself with my back against the ground again, Kurani had a strong grip on my shoulders and made it hard for me to move at all._

_"Won't you admit defeat at least once?!" My friend breathlessly asked me, her straight and long strawberry hair falling over her shoulder and touching my sore cheek. I could see that the punch I gave her earlier was making her eye swell._

_"Thing is, Rana," I grabbed Kurani from her shirt and lowered her close to my face, quickly placed both my feet on her hipbones and pushed hard. If I hadn't been holding her she would have flown right onto our teacher, instead I kept a solid grip and she went flying over my head and slammed her back on the ground right above my head. I quickly rolled over on my shoulder, grabbed her by the arm and turned her over so that she was facing the ground, I placed my knee between her shoulder blades to keep her in place. I then grabbed her arm and twisted it to the back. There was no way she could move._

_"I can beat you whenever I want." A triumphant and smug grin shone on my face. Yes, no one could beat me. I was proud of that, but I was being too stupid to realize that I was hurting my friend, emotionally and physically. When you are young you sometimes don't realize what your actions can do to a person._

_ "Stop it, Kurapika! Stop it!" I had no idea for how long she was urging me to let her go. I immediately freed her and stood up._

_What an idiot I was._

_I offered a hand to help her up, which she refused. A painful moan escaped her lips, she kept her back at me as she walked away. I touched her shoulder to make her turn towards me, but was greeted by a nasty glare. She one of on the Kuruta who did not have the gift of red eyes, probably due to the fact her father was from outside, but I was sure they would be in flames right now if she was pureblood._

_"Leave me alone!" Kurani returned to her seat. She did not look at me for the rest of the day. I did not completely understand why she was so angry at me. Yes, I did not end the training when I was told to. Was she really that upset about it? She was a sore loser. No, I was the sore loser._

_After training ended I followed her. The river was her lonely place, she enjoyed going there. She once told me that the sounds of the water made all her worries go away._

_"Rana, wait!" I called after her. My friend did not reply, she quickened her pace and turned left, disappearing behind trees. I continued to tail her._

_"C'mon, Rana. Why are you so… mad…?" when I looked behind the trees, she wasn't there anymore. As if vanished. Again, she was very fast, but I never knew she could run that fast._

_"She's mad, huh?" I turned around to find Pairo standing right behind me. I sighed._

_"Yes, I think I overdid it at the end."_

_"I think so. You are a sore loser."_

_"Pairo…" I complained. He shrugged._

_"You should apologize. "_

_"I know." I was about to leave but Pairo stopped me._

_"I would bring her some of these." He said holding up a leaf. Pairo always knew how to get me out of a tight spot. He was the best._

_After collecting some leaves I went to search for Kurani. It was not long until I found her sitting next to the river. She always found refuge in the same place. I walked up to her, she was giving me her back._

_"Rana… I'm sorry."_

_"Sorry about what?"_

_"About… before. I should have stopped when I was told to." I sighed. We remained quiet for a while._

_"It's okay." Was all she had to say. "I hate how you always want to be better than others. I wish you weren't so stubborn."_

_Again, I sighed and glanced to the side, a little ashamed. That was how I was. I could not change what she did not like, but I could attempt at being better. I walked up to where she was sitting and swung the leaves in front of her face. She stared at them._

_"What's this?"_

_"They're leaves. I found a couple for you." I smiled. Kurani stood up and gave me an unreadable look and I could not tell if she was upset or not. Her right eye was entirely purple after the punch I gave her earlier. She continued to stare at me, speechless, until she burst out laughing. I was confused._

_"What?"_

_Kurani did not answer and continued to laugh. Had I done something funny?_

_"I'm sorry, but your face… " I touched it and sucked air through my teeth in pain. My cheek was swollen, just like her right eye._

_"You should look at yours!"_

_We both laughed. Children's laughter that I had not heard in a long time. Juvenile and honest. That's how we were._

_Oh, to go back there…_

_But then Kurani began to cry. She still had her smile on. Where those happy tears? I couldn't say._

_"Is something wrong?" I asked._

_"I'm sorry, I can't stop!" she brought one hand to her cheek to dry them from her tears. I handed her the leaves in an attempt to calm her down."You're such an idiot… I can't stay mad at you even if I want to."_

_I pouted my lower lip. "Thanks… but stop crying now, okay?"_

_"I can't stop. I'm sorry." She repeated, her words choked between smiles and tears._

_"I'm sorry." I was not mad._

_"I'm sorry…" her voice was softer, hazier._

_"I'm sorry…"_

* * *

"I'm sorry!" a young woman talking on the phone crossed my path and bumped into me. She immediately regained her fast pace and disappeared from my sight.

Blankly, I gazed at the sky.

I experienced another one of those odd memory trances. As much as I could not understand why they were coming back to me, I was not bothered by them at all.

I aimlessly continued to walk down the street, passing what seemed to be an old ice cream shop, waiting for my mind to elaborate a theory as to why I was reminiscing the past so much.

Truthfully, I did not care for an answer.

* * *

**Notes:**

New chapter! It was fun to write so I hope you liked it. Please tell me what you think :)

I would like to thank randomfangirl for the review since I couldn't thank you personally :)

_Next Chapter:_ Promise


	3. 3) Promise? Promise

_Promise? Promise._

* * *

_Black._

_It was dark._

_I could not see a thing, but I could hear something._

_Someone was crying. Who was it? Was it Pairo? Kurani?_

_"Kurapika…" I heard a small voice calling me. I dried my tears but did not look up. There was still darkness around me._

_I was crying. Why was I crying?_

_"I'm sorry." I whispered._

_"It's alright, Kurapika."_

_"No, it's not! You both could have died!" I wanted to scream those words, but they came out like a broken murmur._

_Silence._

_Kurani was never good at comforting people. Or maybe I was just being stubborn._

_I had led Pairo and Kurani on one of my excursions in the furthest part of the forest. We had never gone there and I wanted to explore, to be ready for when Pairo and I would go outside of the village. Unfortunately for us we were being followed by a hungry beast, a huge Hornet Lion. Kurani and Pairo had both been pushed down by it, Pairo was on the ground and Kurani over him, covering her head with her arms, both frightened._

_At that scene my eyes turned red and I was able to take the beast down with my swords. That was not be enough to cheer me up though. I felt so miserable. Things could have gone wrong in so many ways._

_"You couldn't predict what was going to happen." I heard Kurani tentatively say. I ignored her and stayed in my melancholic darkness. _

_"Kurapika," this time it was Pairo's voice calling to me. I did not answer. "Kurapika, what's wrong?"_

_"I'm sorry."_

_"It's not your fault. We were just unlucky."_

_"It is my fault. If we just stayed at the village… it wouldn't have happened." The dead body of the Hornet Lion was laying meters away from us._

_"Kurapika…"_

_"No!"_

_"Kurapika…"_

_"I'm an idiot."_

_"You are."_

_At those words I finally raised my head and looked up at my friends, more tears coming down my cheeks. Those were not the words I was hoping to hear. Pairo was very honest with me. Sometimes he would catch me off guard with his honesty._

_"You're an idiot for taking the blame, Kurapika. it was not your fault that thing was following us. You couldn't have know."_

_"I'm a horrible friend!" my fists pressed against the sides of my head._

_"Why?"_

_"…" I lowered my head in shame._

_"Protecting us makes you a bad friend?" Pairo asked, serious. "Kurapika, you defended us before the beast could do us any more harm. I am proud of being your friend."_

_I broke into tears again, Pairo's hand was on my shoulder, shaking me lightly as if trying to make me go back to my normal self. I was so blessed… so blessed to have friends like them. For a long time after the massacre of my Clan I was convinced I would never find anyone worthy of my friendship like Pairo and Kurani, but I was proved wrong after I entered the Hunter exam._

_"I trust and can rely on you… We are still going out into the world together." Pairo smiled an honest smile. I retuned that gesture of kindness._

_"Yes…" Yes. Those were the words I wanted to hear. He always knew exactly what to say when I needed to pick myself up._

_Thank you, Pairo._

_I dried my puffy eyes, I got back on my feet and all three of us made our way back home. A comforting silence reigned over us. No, not one of those embarrassing and awkward silences. It was a familiar and warm one, something that I truly miss._

_"My father," Kurani broke that perfect silence, both Pairo and I stared at her. "He would always talk about this place where they would sell 'ice-cream'."_

_"What's 'ice-cream'?" Pairo inquired._

_"It's—"_

_"It's a frozen dessert made out of milk and cream and it is usually combined with other ingredients to give it different flavours." I interrupted Kurani's explanation, to which she gave me an annoyed look. "Er… sorry." I sniffled._

_"It's fine, Mr. know-it-all." Kurani said._

_Pairo chuckled. "What about it?" he questioned._

_Kurani shrugged. "My father would say that they make the best ice cream in a shop located somewhere in a city. I don't really member the name of the city, maybe Shin York or something… the shop was called 'Gelato Delight'…" Kurani glanced around the forest thoughtfully._

_"…and?" Pairo said to make her continue._

_She shrugged again. "I always wondered how it tasted."_

_We stared at her for a long moment. What did that have anything to do with what was happening?_

_"Yes, I wonder, too." Pairo rose his chin and curiously gazed at the branches over our heads. "Frozen milk... that sounds odd."_

_"Yeah… hey, maybe we can try that when we go outside." I sniffled and grinned at Pairo, he gave me an excited glance. All these future plans really got us worked up._

_"I want to try it, too!" Kurani stated with a pout. "Don't steal my ideas."_

_"Then why did you share it with us?" I asked her._

_"I… don't know…" she looked at her side as if trying to find an answer. "Maybe we could eat it all three together."_

_"You want to take the test to go outside the village, too?" Pairo asked her with a bit of disbelief in his voice. A soft blush tinted her cheeks._

_"Well, yeah! But not right now. I'm not smart like you guys… it'll probably take me a couple of years or more before I feel ready to take the test."_

_"I thought you never were that interested in going outside." I arched an eyebrow. I liked Kurani, but I was afraid she would butt in my future plans to explore the world. That was Pairo and my dream. I did not want our adventure to be ruined._

_"… I wasn't, but…"_

_" 'But' what?" Pairo asked._

_"But… what am I suppose to do here, by myself, without you two around?!" she burst out frantically._

_Pairo and I gave each other an understanding look before focusing our attention on Kurani again. "I see." I said._

_"You could have said it sooner." Pairo followed. Kurani nervously played around with her fingers and, again, silence fell upon us._

_"I just want to taste ice-cream…" Kurani whined childishly, trying to make that sound like an excuse._

_How did this conversation arrive at this? Just a few moments ago I was miserable, scared and hating myself for what happened and was worried for my friends. Now… now we're talking about ice-cream and complaining about unimportant things. We were so easy to forgive and go on without holding grudges. Children are the most peculiar living creatures… amusingly enough, we were all children once. Happy-go-lucky and careless about everything. We were once like that and now we can barely understand how it was possible to behave in such a careless way._

_How much I have changed._

_"I don't think we'll all be taking the test to go outside at the same time." I said, bringing my hand to my chin. "I'm planning on taking it soon enough. Pairo will wait a bit longer and you said you wanted to take it in a couple of years… When we all pass the exam we could go eat that ice-cream together in that shop."_

_Kurani covered her mouth with both her hands in shock. "Really?" she said breathlessly, not believing what I just said. We never counted her in our outside plans, I'm sure she was pretty excited to be part of this._

_Pairo nodded his head with my smile. "That sounds nice. A future objective for the three of us."_

_"But what if I don't pass the test?" Kurani said._

_"No ice-cream for you." I simply stated giving her a taunting grin._

_"Hey…" she frowned._

_"Ice-cream will be your motivation not to fail." I added and she smiled._

_"Yeah. So… is this a promise?" She questioned looking between myself and Pairo with glistening eyes. We both nodded and brought our fists forward._

_"Promise." We both said almost unison._

_"… What are you doing with your hands?" Kurani had a confused look on her face._

_"What? What do you mean?! This is our handshake!" I commented._

_"You… punch yourself?"_

_"Of course not! We bump each other's fist when we agree on something." Kurani gave me a look between confusion and mockery. I demonstrated for her by bumping Pairo's fist with my own._

_"Whatever…" she came towards us and, together, we brought our hands together and smiled._

_"So, it's a promise." I said._

_"Yes, alright." Kurani nodded._

_"Alright." Pairo added._

* * *

"… alright."

"Huh?"

"Are you alright, Kurapika?"

I was back in the real world and sitting in front of me was Leorio who was staring with a slightly worried expression.

"Kurapika?"

"Yes, I'm fine. My mind was… elsewhere."

"I couldn't tell." Leorio sarcastically answered back. "Lately you've been … weird. Are you sure you're alright?" he questioned. He was probably concerned about the last happenings which involved the Spider and my fever.

"Yes, I'm alright."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I _promise_…"

* * *

**Note:**

And here is another chapter! Hope you liked it and please tell me what you think :)

Hornet Lion is an animal of my invention.

I wanted to thank akilei and my dear xfirework for the reviews. Very appreciated :)

And now we only have two more chapters before the end of this story. I hope you'll like them :3

**Next chapter:** Lovebirds


	4. 4) Good luck

_Good luck_

* * *

_"A little bit higher!"_

_"I can't go higher than this!"_

_"Go on your tiptoes!"_

_"If you want to fall…"_

_I am not sure what Kurani did to convince me to go on a quest to collect leaves. My friend was standing on my shoulders attempting to grab a leaf on a high branch while I held her ankles with my hands so that she would not fall._

_"Can we do something else?" I asked in a bored tone. Where was Pairo when you needed him?_

_"No." she answered firmly. "You're so short, Kurapika. I can't even reach that one." She pointed her finger towards a branch and lifted herself on her tiptoes._

_"I'm not short." I complained, trying to avoid sounding offended. I was tall like any other average twelve, almost thirteen year old._

_"You are too."_

_"Not."_

_"Too."_

_"Not."_

_"Too."_

_"Not!"_

_"Too."_

_"NOT!" I sighed irritably as I shot Kurani a nasty glare. I doubt she saw me from up there. I heard her giggle._

_"Still, you're not being as useful as I thought you'd be."_

_So that's how it was? I was not going to have any of that. "You know, you are in no position to talk." I stated with a frown. "I'm leaving since I'm not appreciated." With that said, I turned around and headed back to the village. I could feel her lose her balance._

_"He-HEY! KURAPIKA!" Kurani was still standing on top of my shoulders, bracing herself and trying not to fall as I walked. "KURAPIKA! STOP! I'M TOO HIGH UP I'M GONNA FALL."_

_I gripped her ankles more firmly. I did not want her to get hurt, it was just a fun little payback for her unwanted comment. "Oh? So now you're too high up? I thought I was short." I could feel her wobbling on my shoulders and I could hardly hold back my laughter. I sped up my pace a little to which she whimpered._

_To keep balance, she placed both her hands on the top of my head and kneeled a little. "Kurapika! Give it a break!"_

_"Mmh… what if I don't?" I smirked. Again, I'm sure she did not see it._

_"Okay! Okay! I'm sorry for calling you short and useless!" my friend panted, her arms around my forehead and her chest pressing against the top of my head._

_I laughed and slowed down. "Apology accepted." I said with a smile. We were now at the entrance of the village when we saw Kurani's mother looking at us with a happy expression on her face._

_"Hey! What are you two lovebirds up to?" she yelled in our direction. Both Kurani and I froze. Even though we tried to make those romantic comments stop by playing along, it only seemed like they were getting worse._

_"Go away, go away, go away, go, go, go, go!" Kurani frantically whispered to me, tugging at my hair. She was now sitting on my shoulders with no risk of falling to the ground so I immediately took her advice, taking a couple of steps back before I broke into a run. As soon as we were far enough from any more marriage remarks from her mother, I stopped to catch my breath._

_"That was close!" I sighed in relief and patted Kurani's knee, her legs dangling over my shoulders and touching the side of my chest._

_"Yeah…" was all she said. We – or rather I- walked quietly for a while, simply enjoying the silence and taking in the fresh air. The sun was lowering, almost setting behind the mountains and tainting the sky with a mixture of pink and orange hues._

_Kurani's chest was lightly resting against the back of my head, and I could not suppress the blush that shown on my face as I realized that what was gently pressing against my head were her small, soft breasts . She was just twelve, but her body was slowly maturing, making her look every day more like a growing young lady. Back then I did not give it much of a thought, I just liked the feeling of her soft chest against me. I wish she would have had a different fate. I wish she could have had the chance to become a woman. She would have been beautiful._

_"Uhm… Rana—"_

_"Do you think they'll ever stop?"_

_"St-stop what?" I stuttered, trying to hide my embarrassment._

_"I'm sorry, were you saying something?" my friend realized she had interrupted me. Truthfully I had no idea what I wanted to tell her. The way her body was touching mine was making me a little nervous and uncomfortable._

_"No, no… what were you saying?"_

_"Do you think they'll ever stop making comments about us getting married?"_

_I stared blankly at the mountains in front of me, as if hoping that an answer was going to rise from behind them. "I don't know. Maybe they'll stop when we get married." I laughed and waited for Kurani to tag along… which she did not._

_Silence covered us like a warm and comfortable blanket until she spoke again, her ankles brushing against my stomach._

_"Kurapika… do you really think we'll get married?" there was something odd about the way she said, I couldn't really put my finger on what is was. Back then I was too young to understand that it was a subject that was on her mind quite often. "Give me an honest answer." It sounded more like an order than a request. I gave that question some time in my head to see if I could find an answer._

_"Considering that there are not a lot of us in the clan… the chances are pretty high." I said frankly._

_"I wouldn't mind marrying you." She rested her chin on the top of my head and I shifted uncomfortably._

_"Rana, why are we talking about this?" Truthfully, I could not understand. I felt her shrug._

_"I've just been thinking about it." She candidly said. "If you think about it… when you marry someone you're suppose to stay together until the end. I think I'd rather marry someone that I've known for a long time than someone that I've just known for a little while." She was without a doubt referring to what happened between her mother and father. So young and already preoccupied about the future._

_"I think you're worrying about something you shouldn't." I said turning my eyes to the sky for a brief moment. "We're young, we still got time."_

_"Right…" she agreed, but I could sense that the conversation was not over yet. "If you meet a girl that you like outside of the village you should marry her." Kurani said almost absentmindedly._

_"I don't think I will… why are we talking about this?"_

_Kurani shrugged again and I could feel her fingers curling around my hair. The situation suddenly got a little awkward._

_"Are you somehow trying to bribe me into marrying you?" I asked in a playful tone in an attempt to lighten the situation._

_"What?! No!" she yelled, reacting to my words by lightly hitting my head with her fist. "How could you think of something like that!"_

_"You're as crazy as our mothers!" I jested, a big smile playing across my face._

_"I'm nothing like them!" my friend objected, her cheeks puffing up in annoyance._

_"And here I thought you were normal. So much for tha—Ouch!" I stopped midsentence when Kurani pinched my cheek hard. "Violent as well."_

_"Baka!"_

_"Poor me!"_

_"Shut up, Kurapika!" Kurani crossed her arms over her chest and rested them over my head. I laughed in amusement._

_"So, you decided to take the test to exit the village tomorrow?" she changed subject of conversation, as per usual when she did not want to talk about something anymore._

_"Yes, I'm confident I can do it."_

_"Mmh… good luck."_

_I smiled and lightly nodded my head, the sun almost setting behind the mountains._

* * *

"Thanks." That word slipped out from my lips almost as a second thought, absentmindedly. The sun was grazing the horizon and I closed my eyes, wishing I was home.

* * *

**Note:**

Hey guys! New chapter. Hope you liked it :) next chapter will be the last. Thanks for making it so far!


	5. 5) It's all good

It's All Good

* * *

"I heard this place is gonna close."

"Yeah? Not impressed. It doesn't really have a lot of customers. Their stuff is crap."

"You're always so nice with the adjectives, Cad."

"Thanks, Lolly."

"Give it a break you two."

A group of three walked pass me and I casually overheard their conversation, not bothering to look up at them. So this ice-cream shop was going to close? I was just on time.

"Here you go." The waitress of the Gelato Delight shop placed the three cups of ice-cream on the table where I was sitting at. I was a nice afternoon, the type when the streets are not too busy and the sun coats you with its warmth.

I nodded my head to the bored waitress, who had already disappeared and I stared at the ice-cream cups in front of me. I had chosen them with care, trying to figure out which flavours they would have liked to taste.

I decided for a mango-melon- strawberry cup for Pairo. I had a feeling he would have enjoyed those fresh and fruity flavours; I opted for After Eight with chocolate syrup for Kurani, she would have been delighted by those little chocolate scales melting in her mouth.

I, instead, picked a contrasting chocolate and strawberry cup. I liked how those flavours clashed together.

_"Mmh, the chocolate syrup looks like a river running down a mountain."_

_"Kurani, can I have some?"_

_"You haven't even tasted yours yet and you already want mine! Eat yours first, Pairo."_

_"You have such a big mouth, you'll finish it in two scoops!"_

_"Aaah, shut up!"_

I smiled. I was not sure the conversation would have gone that way, but I didn't care. It comforted me thinking of what they might have said in this situation.

I sighed and for a moment I lost myself in my own thoughts.

I was not happy, nor sad or angry. I was on the thin line between those emotions, almost too afraid to let myself completely go to one of them, terrified about how overwhelming and suffocating those feelings could be. I kept my unstable balanced for five years now. More time passed, more the line got thinner and more difficult to walk on. For how long was I going to stand on it? Was I really that terrified of being swallowed by those feelings?

"Hey, Kurapika!" My train of thoughts was interrupted by a familiar voice. I turned around to find myself looking at Gon, Killua and Leorio.

"Hello, Gon. What are you doing here? Aren't you suppose to be training to enter Greed Island?"

"Ah, yeah. Leorio kinda forced us to go out and take a break… but we'll continue as soon as we get back to our room."

"No! You can't always train! Your body needs to rest."

"We can take it. We don't slack around like you." Killua nonchalantly commented before giving Leorio a sly grin.

"I don't slack around! For your information I am studying… I mean, do you _know_ how hard it is to become a doctor?" Leorio harshly grabbed a chair at my table and sat down offering a death glare to the silver head boy.

"You're right! It's so hard to open a book and learn what's written inside it!" Killua sarcastically retorted as he took as seat as well before noticing the two extra cups of ice-cream. "Are you here with someone?" he asked giving a quick look around, ignoring Leorio who was barking something at him.

"Ah, no. They… weren't able to make it today." I said with a half smile. It was the truth. "You can have that if you want."

Killua narrowed his eyes on me. He was a very sharp kid, too sharp most of the time. He knew something was wrong, but I am sure he dismissed it for being related to the recent events with the Spider.

"Were you even listening to me, you brat?!" Leorio burst out, taking a big spoonful of the fruit flavoured ice-cream and sticking it in his mouth.

"Hey! Why don't I have a cup as well?!" Gon complaint went unheard.

"Sorry, old man. You gotta speak up otherwise I can't hear ya!" Killua smirked as he tasted the ice-cream as well.

The two of them froze, an unsatisfied expression on their faces as the stared at the ice-cream cups.

"Ew." Killua said flatly, the spoon hanging from his lips as he pushed the cup away. "This is the worse ice-cream I've ever had."

"It's like eating a spoonful of ice. It's tasteless." Leorio added, moving his cup to the side, right in front of Gon.

"Hey, Gon, you want some?" Killua offered with a sly expression on his face.

Gon rubbed the back of his head and waved his other hand in front of his face. "Err… I'll pass." Obviously, he did not want to taste it after hearing those comments from our friends.

"Why? " Killua curled his arm around Gon's shoulder and smirked at him. "Weren't you complaining you wanted some before?"

As Gon opened his mouth to answer, Killua stuffed his mouth with a big spoonful of the dessert to which Gon overreacted by pretending to be suffocating. Leorio tagged along, laughing.

_"Haha, they're funny!" It was Pairo._

_"I think they're weird." I smiled at Kurani's words._

_"You're weird, Kurani."_

_"Whatever Pairo… I'm just glad Kurapika isn't alone."_

_"Yes. He doesn't deserve to be alone… Kurapika?"_

_"Yes?" I inquired silently in my mind._

_" Was the outside world fun?"_

I nodded my head at that imaginary question, staring at my friends who were enjoying themselves.

_"I've had many hardships throughout the way, but I am glad to have found new companions on which I can rely on."_

_Pairo and Kurani smiled. "Don't worry. It's all good."_

"It's all good." I whispered to myself, the corners of my lips curling into a small smile as I finally tasted my almost melted ice-cream. "It really is bad."

* * *

**Notes:**

And we're done! Hope you liked it :) Thank you to everyone who reviewd, faved and followed!


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